Atauro Island

Luka decided to treat auntie Becca to a trip to the local island about an hour off the coast of Dili.  Here are a few photos from our recent visit to Atauro island.  The jist of it is a small eco resort with five cabins, solar power, pit toilets, bucket showers, good food, plenty of sunshine and cold Tiger beer.  What's not to like?

Friday had us chilling in the cabin, swimming and watching Luka trying to feed himself spinach.  On Saturday we wandered out to the local market where we had a fish meal and some local cold drinks, and ventured out on the back of a tuc-tuc to the local Italian restaurant (note: order the morning you plan to have lunch there or prepare to wait 2.5hours for a pizza - fortunately we were forewarned). 

We had an absolutely wonderful weekend teething, cold and broken down water taxi on the way back notwithstanding.  

Luka hanging out with auntie Becca

Fishing nets adorn a local eatery on the beach

Enjoying fresh coconut milk from the source

Luka's voyage out on local transport a la tuc tuc. 

Chillin in my swim trainer out front of our cabin

Pre-bedtime bath

Blessed family

Sunset over our cabin and beach cabana

Weekend island getaway

It might seem like an oxymoron to go on a weekend island getaway, considering that we live on a fairly small island...but that's exactly where we are. After recovering from our Thanksgiving feast (photos to follow soon) we hopped a water taxi to Atauro island, about an hour's ride off the North coast of Timor and booked into Barry's Eco Resort. A lovely group of 5 thatched huts, the resort runs on solar power, pit latrines, good food, cold beer, and friendly staff. Activities include daily trips out to the reef by boat for snorkeling, hikes, a trip to the local doll factor, dinner at the Italian restaurant and dive trips can be arranged. The weather is great, its quiet and the water is 20m away from the porch. Can't wait to come back!

Luka's first Thanksgiving

As has become a bit of a tradition in our household - Chris and I once again hosted Thanksgiving supper for (mostly) American 'orphan' expatriates spending this holiday far away from the warmth, hospitality and food of their families.  I happened to read through our thanksgiving escapades of two years ago in Kabul (see post here) and chuckled at what Thanksgiving pre-Luka looked like, versus this year.

Now if you have ever been at our Thanksgiving table it probably means that you have lived either in Baghdad, Kabul or Dili.  For the past six years, we have hosted probably close to 150 people for Thanksgiving - mostly Americans, with the odd foreigner* (sic) thrown in for good measure.  So it was that we co-hosted our first Thanksgiving in the USAID compound of the Green Zone in 2006.  This entailed four ovens, 3 turkeys, 50 guests, and an insane amount of booze.  The following year in Kabul was our first solo attempt.  We made due with a bird we found through a friend of a friend, were forced to use a can of old cranberry sauce I found on a derelict shelf in a local supermarket, and had to opt for mashed potatoes over sweet potatoes that were not available.  Despite these shortcoming, we hosted 25 very happy friends for a wonderful meal.  Enter 2009, the year of our most legendary of Thanksgiving feasts (and the topic of the link above).  As we cooked our way out of the daily grind of war-torn Kabul, we procured birds, and even made a special trip to Dubai to smuggle in fresh cranberries, celery, sausage, and sweet potatoes. The result was a wonderful Thanksgiving where we hosted 35 guests from American interns to American legend in Afghanistan Nancy Hatch Dupree.

Luka inspects the imported organic turkey, cranberries and
locally procured sweet potatoes

The turkey surgeon at
work to butterfly the
yuppie bird. 

Fast forward to our current island home where we hosted our second Thanksgiving for about 12 friends and colleagues this year.  As with our last island feast, we BBQ'd a bird (well, one of them at least), but it was not just any bird.  I mean, others had turkeys alright.  No, but this was not some Singapore-based, Australian contractor-procured frozen butterball.  No ma'am.  For our feast this year, a friend actually flew in a fresh (not live thank you!), organic turkey from a gourmet butcher in Bondi Beach in Sydney.  That's right.  When I picked up my dear friend and Oxford classmate at the Dili International airport on Wednesday morning at 0700, I was faced with a slightly shellshocked customs officer holding a turkey in one hand and a bag of something I couldn't quite make out in the other.  Rebecca exited the arrivals hall, close on the heels of the customs officer who was by now clasping the turkey in one hand while frantically dialing someone (presumably his supervisor) on his mobile phone.  After a quick dash back to the car to store Ms. Becca's heavy bag, Luka and I rushed over to the quarantine office (me secretly hoping I didn't recognize anyone from our cat import fiasco).  I stormed into the quarantine office and came face to face with the clearly overwhelmed customs officer, still not able to reach his supervisor and started firing off in Tetun explaining that tomorrow is an important day in America, and that I am going to need that bird.  "Bon dia maun, aban iha loran bo'ot husi Amerika, entaun hau presiza ida ne'e" pointing at the bird....oh, and 'by the way, I'm going to need those eight Scotch Fillets as well!'  Fortunately, we walked off with the bird and the steaks.... oh, and the cheese, celery, cranberry relish, five bottles of wine, corn syrup, fresh pecans, and of course Tim Tams.

On the menu this year was thus a BBQ'd butterflied organic yuppie turkey from Sydney, one oven-baked butterball (donated by a friend at the US Embassy), our sausage and sage stuffing (made with chorizo for lack of other sausage), maple glazed sweet potato casserole (made with local honey for lack of maple syrup), simple green beans with sun dried tomato and pine nuts, corn bread muffins, gravy and our 53% density organic cranberry sauce.

And yes, there were pies.  While it goes without saying that I now believe pastry chefs have one of the most difficult jobs in the entire world (perhaps after POTUS and mom) and yes, we may or may not have wasted about 4kg of failed butter in the dough - we did in fact successfully string together 2 sort of holding on butter pie crusts and one crisco backup - but pies we had including home made pumpkin pie (from real fresh pumpkin) and awesome pecan pie thanks to the Australian-procured nuts - I mean, how wrong can you go with pecans, sugar and some egg??

We give thanks!

Okay, I just realized that we are six paragraphs into a post without a mention of Master Luka - so most importantly of course - this was Luka's first Thanksgiving - and as it were, the topic of our thanksgiving this year.  So with friends and colleagues gathered around a table in Dili, we gave thanks for friends, family far away, and especially, so very, very especially, our little Luka.

Good and sad day: Farewell Dr. Nichelle

Baby Security Council trying to draft a Resolution banning
Dr. Nichelle from leaving Dili

Today was one of those really happy and really sad days all at once.  It is a spectacularly happy day because our lovely little man turned eight months today.  But it was a similarly sad day because our beloved Dili Doctor, Nichelle Geary, departs post for new adventures elsewhere in Asia.

To say that she has touched the lives of many (okay, most) of the new Dili babies and their moms (and remember, we are close to a rugby team for Class of 2011) is an understatement.  For most of the moms, she was the healthcare professional that got to share the most wonderful news with each of us as we sat nervously in her trailer-cum-consultation room on the Australian Embassy living compound.  From there, she was the one who did our monthly check-ups (to the best of her ability with the limited resources here) which generally included talking the overly-controlling thirty/forty-somethings through so many of our fears and concerns.  She patiently weighed us, listened to the little bubs, checked our well-being, diet, vitamin intake, and monitored our progress diligently.

My visits to Nichelle was truly something to look forward to.  As anyone who has ever been pregnant can tell you - it is a weird and wonderful time all at once.  Consider that there is no sonar in her office, it was mostly an opportunity to visit and talk about how you feel, what you have been experiencing, and ask her any questions you have.  Which, for the longest time, as someone with a spectacularly uncomplicated pregnancy, was a special time I looked forward to.

So happy after the big scare.

Of course, my love and respect for Nichelle was irreversibly cemented in when things went wrong.  On that fateful Monday morning when I went from low-risk, uncomplicated, healthy and fit pregnancy, to 'you have to leave Dili now' pregnancy, it was Nichelle that shepherded me through the process and on to the plane (literally).  From monitoring my 'cramps' to finally deciding that I had to evacuate Dili ASAP, including arranging for my special medical visa through the Australian Embassy, and then, perhaps most importantly, communicating with the hospital in Darwin and administering the life altering (and I don't mean this lightly), steroids that allowed Luka's lungs to develop to give him a much, much, better start in life, she has touched Luka's and our lives forever.

And so it was that we hosted the wonderful Dr. Nichelle as she is known to us, for some coffee and treats at our home this afternoon.  Working moms came from the office, stay-at-home moms, dads and nannies all came to pay our respect to a fantastic doctor, and a beautiful person.  Seeing her surrounded by seven of her babies this afternoon was something to see.  Watching her listen to each mom's recollection of her impact on her pregnancy was amazing.   From breaking the news to one mommy that she did not in fact test positive for the Malaria she suspected, but rather for pregnancy - to reliving the experience of her checking my blood pressure one last time before I boarded the flight while in labor (not telling the airline of course) - it was a special few hours of reminiscing about some of the most significant moments in our lives, and she was central to so many of them.

Nichelle, you will be so sorely missed.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart, I salute your courage, your patience, and your most beautiful self for caring so much about each and every one of us.  Your new post is so lucky to have you.

With deepest gratitude Lovely Lady.

Hard to believe this is the 30-weeker Nichelle really
did not want to meet in Dili in March. 

Baby Recipe: Fish, Potato and Bok Choy

So we're pretty much decided to pull out any stops as far as feeding Luka.  We figure if we introduce him to interesting food now (we hope) he will be an adventurous eater like his mommy and daddy (and know a little bit more about how to prepare food when he one day gets married than either his parents did).

This week, Chris prepared him an array of delicious food (seriously, you could serve it to guests) including
this delicious boiled fish, potatoes and bok choy (not kidding).

To prepare:
Boil some potatoes on the stove, when soft, remove the potatoes from the water and set aside
Add some deboned white fish (Dory, Tallapia) to the potatoe water, boil until cooked
Steam some bok choy (add some fresh garlic)
Mix all together with a hand blender/bar mix
Spoon into ice trays, freeze overnight
Dump the cubes into a ziplock or Tupper, label and date

Note: each cube is roughly equivalent to 1 tablespoon (Tbs)

To serve:
Remove desired number of cubes x number of feeds, place each feed into a small tupper with a lid and thaw on the counter. refrigerate as needed.

Bubba Brunch Club

Since moving to our new house in town, we have thoroughly enjoyed simple pleasures such as going for a walk down to the beach, to a favorite cafe for breakfast, and especially in hosting again.  Yesterday saw the first 'Bubba Brunch'.  We invited two other couples with young ones about Luka's age, as well as another couple with a young son.  It may seem unnecessary to state this fact, but it is great for parents with babies to visit other parents with babies.  There are the obvious benefits (changing table, wipes in case you forget), but also the more important - comfort.  Watching the other two moms constantly bouncing, walking, standing while eating, dodging spit-ups, breastfeeding, changing nappies, all the while having a great conversation, makes it all seem so normal and acceptable.  I am not saying you can't visit someone that does not have a baby, on the contrary - but it is nice to know if your bub is a little fussy because of teething or tiredness, that everyone will understand.

As for brunch, everyone knows that babies do best in the am.  Add to that the fact that most parents do best after 9am, and you pretty much end up with a timeframe of between 10am-4pm - which is pretty much almost as long as our brunch lasted yesterday.  Truth be told, Chris and I did jump out of bed at 0700 to go for a 30km mountainbike ride (my first in over a year), thanks to a babysitter that showed up at 0730.  Once home, we had a shower, then started preparing brunch which included 2 home made breads (whole wheat and french), a spinach, mushroom and cheese strata (prepared the night before by Chef Chris), home made yogurt and fruit (the yogurt, not the fruit), roasted beef sausages with apricot chutney, and Susan's (well, with a little help from Alice Waters) whole wheat buttermilk banana pancakes.

The beauty is that sometime during brunch all the bubbas (most of them at least) will be down for a nap, and when they are awake, they are delightful and interested in everything and everyone (in Luka's case this means mostly the food!).  The food is great (who doesn't love a brunch?), and by the time your guests leave (and the cleaner does the dishes) you can run out for a nice sundowner walk to the beach with bubba in a stroller (and yes, return in a torrential downpour) just in time for bath time and bed time.

Perfect day to spend a Saturday.  Unfortunately, I was not organized enough to snap a photo of yesterday's festivities, so watch this space for photographic evidence of the new Bubba Brunch Club.
   

Luka's first dive lesson

Luka's favorite PADI SCUBA Instructor had him in the pool for his first 'confined water' lesson.  

Lesson number 1: 'Always blow bubbles'.   

http://youtu.be/w8Mndb5tNsk

Lesson 2:  Have a GREAT time.

Sunday afternoon, Poolside!

While daddy was instructing some new divers, Luka and mommy had a bit of pool time on the sidelines. To say he loves the water is like saying mommy loves chocolate and daddy loves beer - totally understating it.  We were gifted a pool floaty device which we took out for a test drive with the following result:

And the contestants are off!  Lightning Luka is fast out
of the gates! 

He corners and overtakes Slowpoke Sammy

He slams on the hand break to make a tight corner...

Whoa! Good evening Officer! Where'd you come from?

Dragracing?  Who, me??  Oh no, I was just cruising with my
elbow out the window - no racing here...

Whoa, what's that flavor...ssssssour!

Hm, new food - cool!

In continuing Luka's flavor journey, he was recently introduced to yogurt.  Now since there are none in Dili, we employ some assistance from a Kiwi invention called an EasyYo that allows you to make your own home-made yogurt with a little bucket-looking thing, some boiling water, and a packet of easy-yo.  We have come to depend on it as much as on our bread-maker where there are sometimes weeks if not months without either in the supermarket.

As with most of the food we have introduced him to, he honestly seemed to like it, despite the somewhat surprised look when this new SOUR flavor hit his jowls.

Whoa! What's that tingly feeling in my jawline!!!
 Yowzer that was sour!

Timor time = dive time

Cool dude #1 and Cool dude #2

Well, had pretty much the perfect Saturday today.  Allow me to elaborate....
0600 - wake up to the coohs of a certain little dude playing whole-heartedly with the newest best toy ever - his toes.  Peeked over his crib to the biggest smile and arms flapping in this new Big Bird impersonation he has perfected.
0700 - bread maker sounds for a freshly baked multi-grain loaf
0730 - lovely new nanny shows up
0800 - Luka enjoys his porridge while mommy and daddy puts the finishing touches on the packing which means daddy is loading two crates of dive gear while mommy packs the cooler with home baked bread PBJ sandwiches, fruit salad, home made blueberry muffins (oh, did I forget to mention that those came out of the oven at 0730 thanks to Chris), and plenty of sunscreen
0830 - departure out of Dili, swing by the dive shop to collect 4 tanks, and off we go up the east coast approximately 45km

Hit that water!

1000 - put up camp at our first dive site, Marble Rock, which includes a Kelty sunshield tent, Chris unloads and rigs the gear while mommy gives Luka a pre-dive breast feed.
1030 - we hit the water for the first dive, awesome, calm, beautiful, just the two of us
1130 - lunch sandwiches, ginger beer, muffins, chocolate chip cookies, and peace and quiet - wonderful
1215 - Pack up, move to Secret Spot (the place of the infamous Dugong sighting when I 'didn't feel like diving' that day - turns out I was pregnant) - second dive, even more stunning, peaceful, tranquility - wonderful.

Followed by a lovely swim with our water-loving little man and return to Dili around 3pm, dropped off Michelle, came home, Luka had some more veggies, played with us, breastfeed, bath, and asleep by 18:15!  And now, after the babysitter checks in for the evening, we will attempt what we have not attempted yet - to go to a grown-up party tonight (if mommy can stay awake)!  Wish us luck.

Definitely Luka's last swim in his 3-6 months swimsuit...

Breathtaking

Exhibit A

If you are a keen gardener (or lucky enough to receive flowers from your loved one) you will know 'baby's breath' as a tiny white flower often used as filler. If you are a new parent, you will likely associate 'baby's breath' with the sweet sound and breastmilky (also somewhat sweet) smell of your bubba's rhythmic breathing, and pretty much think it is the most beautiful sound/smell on earth.

Another familiar type of 'breath' is of course, the oft feared garlic breath (and yes, apparently there is a website called www.garlicbreath.org) which, if you are a foodie, like us would generally indicate an enjoyable meal in the near past, of if your olfactory factory is in overdrive, like my dad, it would just mean a nosy nuisance for days after the calories of the cheesy garlic bread has made themselves at home on the hips of the diner.

Exhibit B

Today, I would like to present to you the latest in breath technology - a hybrid of the above mentioned breath classes.  Behold, baby garlic breath or perhaps garlic baby breath?  That's right - imagine my surprise one sunny lunch hour when I made the trip back home to breastfeed Luka, and while burping him as per normal, his burb comes out smelling like GARLIC!  I had to take a serious double-take and then realized this is foodie daddy cooking up a storm for him, which this week included delicacies such as "Carrots with Garlic" (Exhibit B) and "Broccoli with Basil".  Trust me, when I got home, I myself wanted to sit down for the mushy goodness coming out of Daddy's Test Kitchen!

Toes, tooth, treks and tonnage

It's been a bit hectic at work, so pardon the radio silence.  I know everyone is asking for recent Luka pics, which I promise to take, just as soon as I can find the camera charger in the last boxes from our recent move.  That's right, we figured that returning to a highly undeveloped country after an extended period away, without any preparation or setup ready, and me returning to work for the first time since March, just wasn't stressful enough, so we added a move into the mix just to keep it real.  Fortunately the move entailed a shift from an (albeit looooovely) hillside house far outside the hustle and bustle of Dili, to basically the equivalent of the 'burbs.  That's right people.  Your bleeding heart friends have now joined the dark side and moved into a semi-compound-like enclave of overpriced expatriate-occupied residences where the only Timorese around are those we employ in our houses.  Sounds awfully South Africa circa 1980 come to think of it.  And you know what, despite missing my hillside home where goats roam on my porch and Bon Jovi ballads wake me more frequently than a nursing infant does, it is rather pleasant to have 24-hour power (with more ACs than I can shake a stick at), enough water pressure (and water) to do more than one load of laundry every other day, and be within walking distance of multiple nannies.

So, 'oh, our baby, he will never change our life' rings extremely true (noooot), but hey - let me tell you, at least the move has merely encouraged us to maintain our life in that we are all packed to go up coast for two dives tomorrow, Chris ran Luka over to my office yesterday and we all ran him home in the super stroller (to the jaw-dropping awe of all the locals), we're walking out the door right now (borrowed baby monitor in hand) to go across the drive way to our friends' for after-dinner drinks, and have a nanny lined-up to sleep in tomorrow night so we can go to our first grown-up party since he joined our party nearly eight months ago.  So if that is what it takes to maintain fun and activity - then I would like to welcome us to the dark side ;)

In addition to the move, and perhaps much more importantly has been the progress and general coolness surrounding the little man.  I have come to realize why it is in fact possible to write a baby book espousing all manner of development and other goals.  Without having read one in a while (work's been a bit hectic) I am constantly asked whether Luka is doing A or B yet - and I can happily report to all interested parties, that yes - he has in fact discovered his toes - only now he won't let go of them, making nappy changes and bath time a lot more complicated than it used to be!  He is also an avid roller - preferring to cut tummy time as short as humanly possible by immediately rolling over and giggling profusely.  He is also very close to sitting, managing to balance himself (toes in hand) quite well, but seems to still be a little top-heavy - I am thinking it is imminent though.  And then, of course, the big news this week - the tooth!  I will try my best to get a photo of it tomorrow, it is soooooooo cute, little bottom left center toothy, all poking through.  Frankly doesn't seem to be bugging him all that much, though I am sure his tiny tots sunflower rattle who has been taking the brunt of the chewing will gladly disagree.

So we're off for a dive trip tomorrow, just Chris and I with Luka and his new nanny, a lovely young woman named Michelle.  Let's hope this one sticks around, or I might have to get the hint and quit my job.

Lastly, for those asking, he clocked in at 8.4kg or 18.5lbs this morning - unbelievable that he now weighs more than allowable hand luggage on Emirates airlines - when he started out as a big T-bone.

More (and photos I promise) soon!

New arrival!

We were reminded again today that Luka really does not cry or fuss without good reason.  I have recently been complaining about a new past-time for our little booby leech - biting!  While he seems to think it is quite amusing, I can tell you as the one on the receiving end, I am less than thrilled.  Then came the slightly more fussy behavior over the past few days, an extra wake at night, and some other nigglies uncharacteristic of our happy boy.  The mystery was finally solved this afternoon when Luka stuck both his and my thumb in his mouth during our kitchen dancing session over lunch - and sure enough, there was a tiny little new tooth!  

The little pearly white is so tiny that I must admit I was not yet able to catch it on film, but I'll give it my best shot over the weekend.  I guess this heralds yet another new phase for us - with the way he eats solids these days, this might mean he could have turkey or ham for Christmas!

When blue is bad

Had pretty much the most terrifying experience with Luka since his regular apneas and other arrests in the NICU seven months ago.  While feeding him his mushed carrots and pumpkin this afternoon (which, similar to the breastfeeding these days, pretty much resemble an MMA match) he suddenly choked.  Now obviously any new parent has the overwhelming fear that you will tumble down the steps while carrying your child and smash his head very graphically into the wall, or you will accidentally let your car drop off the particularly wobbly bit of embankment next to the big bazaar in town (okay, only for those living in third-world cities, but still), and of course, the fear of having to do CPR on your child.  Well, as I watched Luka choke, then cough, then turn a bright red, followed by purple'ish/blue today - I immediately kicked into fight/flight/freeze (and fortunately did not freeze).  I yanked him swiftly out of his Baby Bjorn rocker chair where he was happily munching away a second ago, and in one swell swoop, flipped him onto his stomach, lying face down on my left hand and started banging his back with the flat of my right hand.  Of course I am leaning over trying to watch his face for a reaction, and god willing a piece of food to come flying out followed by a relieved hack, cough and a cry - but none came - instead, in panic, not knowing exactly what I would do next if I didn't get him to breathe again, I flipped him up, and grabbed him around a waist and performed my best interpretation of a Heimlich maneuver.  Of course, through all this, Chris was not home - and I remember, in the seconds (that felt like hours) of manipulating Luka's airways, I briefly thought about calling Chris - what I would say to my husband carelessly shopping for Australian-style plugs and fruit, I am not sure - but it seemed like a good thought to have.

The whole ordeal came to an end when Chris walked through the door, me with Luka still face-down, looking up at him saying 'he's not BREATHING!' - he rushed over, I handed Luka to him, who was still a little choked up, but he let out a big cry and Chris just tried to convince me that 'if he's crying, he's fine' and telling me how great I did...

...let me tell you...worst experience EVER.

In hindsight, my Emergency First Responder (EFR) training definitely kicked in as I instinctively grabbed him, flipped him over and started smacking him in the right manner - but I know in Australia they don't recommend or teach the Heimlich for infants anymore, so of  course I was terrified that I had somehow done any damage to him in doing so...happy to report though that he is fine.  Mommy's nerves notwithstanding.  I am sure this is not the last time I'll get a scare, I mean, he hasn't even started riding a bike yet, but holy cow. If you've ever watched your little one turn blue, you'll know what I'm talking about - and if you haven't, count yourself lucky.

Expat Babies

I'm often reminded that our lives are not considered the 'norm'.  Where we live, it is completely normal for one household to boast three nannies for three babies under the age of fifteen months.  It is also quite par for the course for three boys from three different families, none older than seven months, to collectively boast seven different nationalities and be learning as many languages.

Start your engines - Darwin is on the world map!

A friend who recently returned from a 5-day visit to Darwin was kind enough to bring us (in addition to a new AC panel for our 20-year old vehicle and key ingredients for home-made yogurt)  a copy of the NT News (as in Northern Territory News for all our friends around the world, or in Sydney).  Seems that Luka has really put Darwin on the map this year, as his birthplace is turning quite a few heads (some in bewilderment).  Most notably Darwin was recently named one of the Top-10 cities to visit in 2012 by the Lonely Planet.  Now all the amazing nurses and other extraordinary people in Darwin notwithstanding - seriously - Top TEN cities in the world to visit?  This world including places like Budhapest, Istanbul, Fez, Paris, New York and countless other cities that spark not only the imagination, but also centuries of historical relevance and ancient wonders.  Of course, this is the same list that puts London at the top of the list (because really, if London wasn't the most overpriced city before, the 2012 Olympics will do wonders for hotel prices in a tight economy) and also includes Orlando, Florida (because you really need to see Disney World again)  - which leaves me to think - in the recession, maybe the Lonely Planet used an intern to put this list together.  One of the few 'non-western' city on the list is Muscat.  Interesting as it may seem (having been there, this being the site of our amazing whale shark experience in 2009 while dodging the Afghan Presidential election), it remains a very 'safe' choice (read: cool enough but slightly sleepy and a little bit boring, and within driving distance of Dubai, one of the most soul-killing cities in the world).

Back to Darwin.  Seems the White House subscribes to the Lonely Planet RSS feed, as US President Barack Obama announced that during his visit to Australia this month, the only city in addition to Canberra  to be graced by his presence will be, you guessed it: Luka's birthplace!

Go Darwin!

A hike a day..

...keeps the stir-crazy away.  While living up here on the hillside outside Dili, there is not much we can do out the front door, mainly due to the fact that our house sits perched on top of the main North-South highway in the country (now granted, it looks more like a windy driveway to a haunted castle than an Interstate, but nonetheless).  With swerving trucks packed far beyond capacity with bags of rice, live chickens and daily commuters, honking and speeding around bends, and youngsters on scooters overtaking said trucks on said blind corners, it is not exactly the safest road for a walk with a stroller.

Fortunately for us, we now have an alternative that keeps Luka closer to us, and out of harms way - so from time to time, we muster up the courage and head out for a hike with a new apparatus that is firmly affixed to our (read: Chris) back, enabling a fast dodge for any oncoming hazard.  A friend recently mentioned on facebook that he has the Lexus of hiking backpacks, I think we have the Rolls Royce if I look closely at all the gadgets and nifty bits of this one - perhaps we should have a hike-off!  And of course, Luka looooooves it.  I think part of the fun for him is to be at the same height as mommy trotting alongside him because the smile stretches from ear to ear...that is, right up until the time he falls fast asleep...